Slidable lid for clothes wringer



Jan. 31, 1956 H. G. DUNN SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHES WRINGER AND WASHERCABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1952 F/GJ.

Attorney Jan. 31, 1956 H. G. DUNN 2,732,700

SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHES WRINGER AND WASHER CABINET Filed April 23, 19522 Sheets-Sheet 2 g l lllllI lIlllil'llIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiII 1 :I l

Inventor United States Patent 1 2,732,700 SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHESWRINGER AND WASHER CABINET Harold George Dunn, Perivale, Greenford,England, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application April 23, 1952, Serial No. 283,802Claims priority, application Great Britain April 24, 1951 3 Claims. (Cl.6814) This invention relates to clothes washing machines of the kindhaving a container for washing liquid, the container having a generallyrectangular form in plan view and having a wringer extending across whatwill be termed the rear portion of the top of the container.

According to the present invention the machine is pro vided with a lidarranged to slide from a position where it is wholly or mainly under thewringer, when the latter is in its operative position, to a position inwhich it wholly or mainly covers the forward part of the top of thecontainer not covered by the wringer.

The sliding lid may be provided in addition to an outer lid which isarranged to cover the whole of the top of the machine when the wringeris folded down to an inoperative position, and is also capable of beinginverted and having one edge hooked under a portion of the wringer toserve as a work tray.

In these circumstances the sliding lid can be rapidly slid back to itsinoperative position under the wringer to give access to the clothes forpulling them up to wring them, and equally easily slid forward to aposition in which it covers the forward part of the container whilewashing is in operation.

The machine may incorporate a pump for emptying the container and animpeller driven by the same motor as the pump so as to be rotated whilethe container is being emptied, in which case a further function of thesliding lid, when in its rear position, is to close the openings throughor round the wringer to prevent splashing by the impeller as thecontainer is being emptied.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but onespecific embodiment will be referred to by way of example with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part of a washing machine inits operative position:

Figure 2 is a right hand side elevation partly in section, and

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2, but the wringer hasbeen moved to its housed position, and a lid has been applied to thecabinet.

The wringer A comprises a body A1 formed in a single casting toaccommodate a pair of parallel wringing rollers B, and is mounted in therear part of the open top of a generally rectangular Washing machinecomprising an outer casing C and a tub or container D for washingliquid. The tub has a sloping shoulder D1 and within its upper edge aresecured a pair of mounting blocks E of such thickness as slightly tooverhang the lower part D2 of the inner surface of the tub. The wringercasting is provided with downwardly projecting lugs A2 through whichpivot bolts F extend into the mounting blocks so that the wringer canpivot about a horizontal transverse axis to fold forwardly anddownwardly into the container. The latter can then be covered by asubstantially flat flanged lid G.

One end of the shaft 131 of the lower roller is extended through thebody of the wringer and a cranked handle H is secured to it by means ofa transverse hinge. A sliding sleeve H2 provided with a rubber hand gripand bumper sleeve H3 encircles the handle shaft and can be slidlongitudinally to the left in Figure 1 to cover the hinge and preventfolding of the handle when it is in its operative position, or can beslid to the right so as to leave the handle free to pivot.

The wringer is provided with a latch J serving to lock the wringer inits operative position and in its inoperative position.

A particularly simple arrangement is provided for emptying the containerin which a single motor P drives the impeller P1 and a centrifugal pumpP2. During normal operation the outlet from the pump is closed byplacing an outlet hose Q so that its end fits over a stationary bung Q1and the pump turns idly. To empty the container it is only necessary towithdraw the hose from the bung and direct it towards a bucket or drainwhich is to receive the liquid from the container.

During the emptying operation the impeller may be stopped by some formof clutch but the mechanism is clearly simplified if the impeller can beleft running. If the impeller is left running, when the container ispartly filled with clean water and unused soap, excessive latheringocurs; but this condition is unlikely to arise since the container willnormally be emptied only after use, when the soap will have been spent.In these circumstances there is little or no lathering but considerablesplashing is liable to occur.

It is highly desirable that the underside of the wringer should be opento prevent accumulation of soap deposits and allow ready escape ofliquid during wringing, and in the case of a folding wringer it isdifiicult to avoid spaces between the wringer and the container.

To confine within the container the splashing that occurs duringemptying, a sliding lid or tray R is provided, the edges of which reston the shoulders D1 of the sides of the container so that it can he slidback under the wringer against the rear wall of the container duringemptying. Preferably the lid has a downwardly extending lip or flange R1at least along its forward edge and preferably round its wholeperiphery. To prevent scratching or rattling the flange is interruptedat two points in each side to receive a rubber pad or bulfer R2.

The sliding lid may be fluted so as to serve as a scrubbing board, forexample for preliminary application of soap to specially dirty parts ofarticles, such as collars or cufis. Conveniently the lid has a hand holeR3 near its forward edge to enable it to be slid to and fro. Since thelid rests on the shoulders D1 it can not only be slid to and fro but canalso be lifted out at will.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A clothes washing machine having a container of generally rectangularform in plan view, said container having a top opening, a wringerextending across the rear portion of the top opening, and a lid ofsmaller area than said top opening, said lid being mounted on saidcontainer to slide from a position where it is wholly or mainly underthe wringer to a position in which it wholly or mainly covers theforward part of the top opening of the container not covered by thewringer.

2. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the sliding lid isfluted so as to serve as a scrubbing board.

3. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the side walls ofthe container are formed with shoulders near their upper edges, and thesliding lid rests on these shoulders.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.23,441 Gibson Dec. 18, 1951 D. 168,292 Dreyfuss Dec. 2, 1952 1,667,847Garlits May 1, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 974,410 France Sept. 27, 1950648,930 Great Britain Ian. 17, 1951

